NFL Oakland Raiders

Oakland Raiders Make Right Move Hiring Ken Norton Jr. as Defensive Coordinator

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By @bradberreman24

Ken Norton Jr., Oakland Raiders, Seattle Seahawks

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

After a fairly prolonged search by new head coach Jack Del Rio, Ken Norton Jr. has been hired as the new defensive coordinator of the Oakland Raiders. He has spent the last five seasons as linebackers coach for the Seattle Seahawks, and could not interview for another position until Seattle’s season was over. ESPN.com reported that Del Rio and Norton met on Monday, so an agreement came together fairly quickly.

Norton and Del Rio were part of the same linebacking corp with the Dallas Cowboys for three seasons (1989-1991), so they will now be reunited. Norton was part of three straight Super Bowl-winning teams in the 1990′s, two with the Cowboys and the third with the San Francisco 49ers, so he brings a championship pedigree to Oakland dating back to his playing career in the NFL.

This will be Norton’s first coaching job under a head coach other than Pete Carroll, as he was linebackers coach and assistant head coach at USC for six seasons before following Carroll to Seattle. But it’s safe to say Norton is ready for the opportunity he will get with the Raiders, and he did not seem to be a serious candidate to replace Dan Quinn as defensive coordinator in Seattle.

Norton has been specifically credited with helping develop Bobby Wagner, K.J. Wright and David Hawthorne, but it’s fair to assume he played a prominent role in helping plenty of other Seahawks’ linebackers during his time there. That bodes well for his ability to get the most out of the talent available to him in his new role, since the Raiders don’t have a lot of notable, in their prime defensive players in place at this point and their best defensive player is a linebacker (Khalil Mack).

Del Rio previously suggested he would be more involved in defensive play-calling if his coordinator lacked experience, which has come to fruition, but Norton said he has gotten the impression he would be making the calls. I can see the potential for friction if Del Rio struggles to delegate properly, but Norton is a great hire for the Raiders as they look to reverse their fortunes on the field.

Brad Berreman is Columnist/Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Connect with him on Twitter or Google +.

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